The Today Radio news team brings you the latest headlines for Friday, 13 September.

Luxembourg

SCHOOL PHONE BAN - Education Minister Claude Meisch has announced a new policy to ban smartphones in primary schools and state-run drop-in centres after Easter, citing concerns over the negative impact of excessive phone use among children. As for secondary education, the minister explained that smartphone use during class should also be eliminated but schools will be free to work out their own concepts and approaches.

FRIEDEN IN HUNGARY & MOLDOVA – Luxembourgish Prime Minister Luc Frieden has made an unexpected trip to see Viktor Orban in Hungary. The meeting took place yesterday behind closed doors and was followed by a joint press conference, during which journalists were barred from asking questions.Today, Frieden is visiting Moldova. Presidential elections are being held here in October, at the same time as a referendum on joining the EU.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING ARREST - A woman working for the Luxembourg branch of the Red Cross has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The employee in question is a Colombian native living in Arlon and working for the Red Cross in Luxembourg. She is said to have been the leader of one of Europe and Belgium's largest human trafficking networks for the past two decades. Along with her partner and accomplices in Cali, Colombia, she stands accused of luring people to Europe to then force them into prostitution.

FRANCIS OF DELIRIUM - Luxembourg's own indie rock band Francis of Delirium has performed at KEXP, a well known Seattle-based radio station (and Youtube channel). The band was the first Luxembourg act to step onto the stage at the American station, familiar to alternative music lovers.

World

UKRAINE WAR - President Putin has said the West will be in direct conflict with Moscow if it allows Ukraine to strike Russian territory with western-made long-range missiles, something Ukraine’s President Zelensky has been urging his allies to permit. The stark warning has come as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Joe Biden are due to discuss the issue in Washington today. The British media are reporting that Biden, who is wary of provoking a nuclear conflict, is ready to let Ukraine deploy British and French missiles using US technology but not US-made missiles themselves.

US ELECTION - Donald Trump has ruled out holding another US election debate with Kamala Harris. Some analysts believe the Republican candidate performed poorly in Tuesday’s televised encounter.

CHARLEROI STRIKES - A joint union strike is continuing at Charleroi airport in Brussels today. All flights scheduled for this Friday have been cancelled. The airport is advising all passengers with flights scheduled for today to contact their airline and not go to the airport. Chaos ensued at the airport yesterday as the strike impacted nearly every single aspect of aviation traffic, from baggage handling to check-ins, aircraft refuelling and the cancellation of all arrivals and departures.

EU INTEREST RATES - Europe's main stock markets climbed yesterday as the European Central Bank cut interest rates for the second time this year. The rate now stands at 3.5%, after a quarter percentage point cut. Inflation rates have been easing, but the bank’s president Christine Lagarde stressed that inflation is likely to tick up again later this year and that fast-rising wages are still a threat.

Sport

FOOTBALL – It’s the 2nd match-day in the German Bundesliga. Borussia Dortmund will face the current table leader Heidenheim this evening. And in France, the promoted St-Etienne is playing against  Lille.

Paris Saint-Germain have refused to pay departed striker Kylian Mbappe a disputed 55 million euros despite a French league (LFP) order to do so earlier in the day. The LFP oversees all matters concerning the top two tiers of football in France, but PSG said they would seek a legal ruling elsewhere.

FORMULA 1 – Formula 1 is gearing up again this weekend. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The action on the streets of Baku will start with first and second practice today, followed by final practice and qualifying on Saturday and then the main race on Sunday. It will be streamed live on all RTL platforms.

ATHLETICS - Saint Lucia's sprint queen Julien Alfred, her American rival Sha'Carri Richardson and Olympic men's 200m champion Letsile Tebogo headline a panoply of stars from the Paris Games at Friday and Saturday's Diamond League finals in Brussels. Luxembourg's sprinter Patrizia van der Weken is competing in the women's 100m race. She is the first Luxembourgish athlete to compete in a Diamond League Final.

Weather

A foggy morning will eventually clear up into a moderately cloudy afternoon with some sunshine peeking through.
Temperature-wise, it's a chilly start at around 6-8 degrees, rising up to 14–16°C in the afternoon.

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